Goodbye Love
by Tuttle
Summary: Mark turns 26. The friends deal with the reality of mortality. Chapter 2 Added.
1. Chapter 1

He moved with ease. In, out. In, out. The precision and rapid repetition formed beads of sweat on his brow which dripped from his long locks, splaying across his young lover's skin like it had so many nights before. Her light caramel complection radiated in the light which peeked through the small window of her bedroom. 

Their bodies slid against eachother from both exertion and the heat of the night. Fluids meshed, pleasure mounted, screams of ecstacy echoed the thin walls. They both fell back against the mattress, breathless.

"That was... amazing," Mimi cast her arm across Roger's bare chest, fingers gently tracing the contours. "You... are amazing."

"How many was that?" Roger rested his lips on the top of her head.

"Three," Mimi smiled., pulling her body tighter against him. "I thought you didn't feel well."

"Yeah, well... you always seem to make me feel better. Must be a gift."

"Must be," Mimi laughed softly, basking in a soft glow. Roger loved the way her body glistened in the soft rising sunlight after they had just made love. It was perfection. "You're not in any kind of hurry tonight, are you? I mean... this morning, I mean..."

Roger planted a kiss squarely on her lips, kissing her deeply. "Shh," he said. "No talking."

She smiled, letting his tongue part her lips and swirl with her own. He always made her feel so amazing, almost electric. Mimi smiled softly as she pushed herself up just slightly. "Roger..."

"Yeah, baby," he slowly ran his fingers through her hair. His green eyes burned through her with a passionate fire.

"Nothing," she rested back down allowing him to tighten his arms around her. "I just don't ever want to move." She knew she would have to however. There was a Life Support meeting and work, but she tried not to think about it. For now, she simply wanted to enjoy her time with Roger.

>>>>>>

"Something smells amazing," Collins stretched, coming out of the bedroom. Truth was, something smelled burnt and extra crispy. Truth was, something smelled horrible. Something smelled like Angel was cooking. And that's what made it amazing.

"Don't lie, honey," Angel said softly. "You don't do it very well." She smiled as Collins came into view. Angel, despite the earliness of the morning was already made up to perfection. Short black wig, tiny green skirt with white checked tights. She walked the floor without shoes, approaching him and kissing him softly. "You were so tired." she said. "I didn't have the heart to wake you. I... made breakfast... kinda. It's supposed to be eggs and bacon but..."

"It's fantastic, baby," Collins sat down with her. "Thank you."

Angel ladled out the watery eggs and overly crisp bacon. Collins smiled and didn't once complain. He never did. "Are you going to Life Support today?" Collins nodded simply. "I'm going by Mimi's to see if she wants to come."

"She's been doing a lot better lately," Collins said, sucking back the eggs. "Life Support has been good to her."

"Rehab too," Angel smiled. She was so proud of Mimi. The young girl who Angel had grown so close to, years earlier when Angel was living in tent city and Mimi was doing anything (and anyone) she could to get by/ Back when Mimi ha just started seeing Benny. She had come a long way since then. "She's going to be just fine." Angel made a face. "This is really disgusting." She laughed. "Maybe we can get something out before the meeting."

"That's a good idea, baby." Collins said. "I'll call Mark, see if he and Roger want to come."

"And get dressed." Angel smiled.

"Right..." Collins said. "Dressed."

Angel scooted him with a giggle and began to clean up 'breakfast'.

>>>>>>

It was hot. Mark lay on the irregular full sized bed, blonde hair slicked back with sweat. The ringing phone caused Mark to groan and become semi-conscious as the answering machine clicked it's all too familiar 'SPEEAAK!'

"Mark, Roger, it's Collins. I know you guys are there somewhere. Pick up the phone. Amazing night last night. We wanted to know if you wanted to get breakfast. Look, we'll be at the Life if you're up for it. Later!"

The click of Collins hanging up made Mark cringe mare than the initial ringing of the phone. He moaned, rolling onto his stomach. He reached his arm out for his glasses, coming in contact with something soft and lightly sweat glistened. He placed his glasses on and allowed his eyes to come into focus on the body, the naked body, that slept beside him. Brown hair splayed across her back and face, a little more curl defined with the heat. He let his eyes move down her body and stop at the strategically placed star tattoo on her posterior.

Mark pushed his glasses up and rubbed his eyes. "Oh God..." he said "What the hell happened last night?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Angel!" Mimi called, pulling Roger into the Life Café, towards the table where Angel and Collins sat. 

"Mimi!" Angel smiled. "You made it." Roger pulled up a chair. "Mark couldn't make it?"

"Probably hung over," Roger laughed. "Talk about a celebration. Happy 26th, Mark, right?"

"It was pretty wild." Mimi smiled. She sat on Roger's lap. "He's probably still asleep."

"Or dead," Collins laughed. "I don't know what happened to that boy last night."

"He was under the influence of Roger," Mimi shoved at his chest.

"Oww," Roger flinched. "Don't blame me. It's not my fault that Marky just can't say no."

"Did he even get home last night?" Mimi wondered.

Collins looked at them. "I thought you two stayed with him."

"Something... came up." Roger said.

"I bet it did," Collins said as Mimi hung on Roger. Angel giggled, picking up the subtle euphemism. "So you left him alone?"

"Maureen was there."

"You left him alone with Maureen?"

"It's OK," Mimi giggled. "We called them a cab before we left. They should be fine, just a little... drunk..."

Collins looked over as the bell above the door jingled. "Speak of the devil." he said. "Looks like somebody did survive last night."

Mark approached the table. "You..." he said softly and almost embarrassed to Roger. "I need to talk to you."

"Mark lives," Roger proclaimed. "You don't look half bad. Not compared to last night at least."

"What the hell happened last night?"Mark pulled up a chair. "The last thing I remember is you ordering a round." he looked at Roger.

"Oh, sweetie" Angel placed a comforting arm on his shoulder. "You blocked out the best part. We all went out to the bar and Roger ordered a round of drinks..."

_"Mimi, chica, come on down from there," Angel laughed softly at Mimi who was standing on the bar, dancing to the music from the jukebox. "Roger got drinks, baby."_

_Mimi giggled, jumping down from the bar into Angel's arms. She plopped down at the table between Roger and Mark. _

_"To Mark," Roger toasted. "Happy 26th man."_

"That's not what happened" Mimi laughed. "You were drunk, baby, let me tell the story." She looked at Mark. "Roger ordered drinks..."

_"Angel... baby, you're gonna break your leg," Collins said to Angel, who danced on the bar, heels clicking on the wood. "Come on down from there. We got drinks." He helped Angel down from the bar and over to the table._

_"Happy birthday, baby." Angel said to Mark. "26, you old man you."_

_Roger took a long swig of his drink. "Oh my God!" Mimi exclaimed, causing Roger to practically choke. "We need to have a little fun."_

_"Fun?" Maureen downed her drink. "That sounds like a good idea."_

_"I never!" Mimi smiled at the clueless look on Mark's face. "It's easy. We take turned saying stuff like... 'I never made out in a public place.' If it's true, you don't drink. If you have, you gotta drink. Got it?"_

_"I don't know about this," Mark was reluctant._

_"It'll be fun, pookie," Maureen smiled. "I'll start. I never... went to bed with one person and woke up with someone else."_

_Everyone but Mark and Angel drank. They looked at Collins. "You liar," Mimi said._

_"Ask Roger one time about his first gig at the Pyramid Club."_

_"That was wild," Roger laughed. "I remember that."_

_"OK, OK, my turn." Angel smiled. "I never said something that I knew wasn't true, just to keep from hurting my best friend."_

_They all drank. "What did I do?" Roger asked. _

_"When you were going through withdrawl... I..."_

_"I got it," Roger said gently. "Your turn anyway."_

_"Oh, I don't know..." Mark said. Angel nudged him. "I... never spent the night in jail."_

_Everyone but Mark drank. Collins looked at Angel. "You?"_

_"I was seventeen" she said, giggling softly. "It's funny actually. They thought I was a hooker named Ginger."_

_The table erupted in laughter. "I knew Ginger," Mimi snorted. "You look nothing like her." The laughter grew._

_"Your turn, baby," Angel smiled. _

_Mimi sat up a bit. "OK. I never... used my body to get something I wanted."_

_Both Mimi and Maureen drank. "Figures," Roger said to Maureen. _

_"Zip it, rock star," Maureen smiled. _

_"Come on, boys and girls." Collins said. "I never..."_

_"I got one." Roger said. "I never slept with an ex..."_

Mark took a large swig of his coffee.

"And that's pretty much what went on most of the night." Mimi said. "We had a blast."

"We sure did." Roger added. "It was a wild night."

Mark swallowed. "You have no idea."


End file.
